CAN BROWN BUILD ON BREAKOUT GAME?

Colts at Chargers

Monday: 5:40 p.m. at Qualcomm Stadium

On the air: 9/51, ESPN (subject to blackout); 105.3-FM, 1360-AM

Standing at his Chargers locker after practice, Vincent Brown picked up his last piece of clothing, tugged the sweatshirt over his head, and turned around. In an instant, four video cameras from the local TV stations were a foot from his face.

Welcome back.

“Once you have a big game, everybody wants to come and talk to you,” Brown said later after the scrum had broken up.

He related this with a smile. He doesn’t mind a bit, because it seemed like forever since Brown had put in the kind of performance to warrant such attention. It happened on Sunday night against the Oakland Raiders, with the former San Diego State star catching seven passes for a career-high 117 yards in a tough loss.

Brown made the Chargers’ longest catch in the game, a 51-yarder that set up a fourth-quarter touchdown, and he had three receptions in one third-quarter drive that ended in a field goal. He also caught a 30-yard touchdown pass that would have been his second score of the year, but it was nullified because rookie tackle Nick Becton did not line up properly.

Brown had seven catches the previous week in a win over the Cowboys, but those came on tighter routes with smaller gains. Against the Raiders, Brown got a chance to shift gears a few times, and five of his catches gained more than 10 yards. Importantly, five of the receptions came on second-and-long, with four resulting in a first down.

The results can’t be underestimated when it comes to Brown’s confidence. The 24-year-old continues to work his way back mentally and physically from the broken ankle he suffered in the 2012 preseason that kept him out all of last year.

“It felt great to be out there contributing, trying to help the team win,” Brown said. “It’s all about getting the wins, and we didn’t get the win, but to get in a mode I haven’t been in in a long time felt pretty good.”

With eight catches in the first three games, Brown and his comeback were overshadowed by the resurgence of Antonio Gates, the spectacular start by Eddie Royal and the revelation of rookie Keenan Allen. Brown didn’t figure to be invisible for long with the injury losses of Malcom Floyd and Danario Alexander, but either by game plan or happenstance it took a while for him and Philip Rivers to find their comfort zone again.

Rivers said on Wednesday that following the 2011 season in which Brown caught 19 passes as a rookie, the quarterback felt as comfortable with Brown as any of his wideouts entering ’12.

“There has been no hesitancy on my part to throw him the football,” Rivers said. “… It has taken a little time to get back in the groove … it’s just kind of the way the games came up. I have always had a great deal of confidence in him. He’s going to be where he is supposed to be. He knows what to do and he’s going to catch the ball when it’s thrown his way.”

Against the Colts on Monday night, Rivers could become the first quarterback in NFL history to achieve three consecutive 400-yard games. He wouldn’t be having that kind of success if he didn’t have so many threats. Five Chargers are in double digits for catches — Gates leading with 32 — and six have caught touchdowns. Allen also had his best game against the Raiders with six catches for 115 yards and his first pro TD.

“When you have a quarterback like Philip Rivers who can go through the progression on every play and get it to the open guy, that’s what’s going to happen,” Chargers head coach Mike McCoy said. “Every other week it’s somebody else.”